28 Mar 2023法庭線#6225
《立場》被指煽動案｜辯方指《文匯報》曾報道「屠龍小隊」眾籌 「根據控方說法，呢個直情幫佢宣傳？」
The trial of Stand News, which is charged with conspiracy to publish seditious publications, entered its 48th day at the District Court on Tuesday (28th). Responding to the prosecution’s earlier allegation that Stand News promoted former lawmaker Hui Chi-fung’s “international front” and sold advertising in an interview, the defence cited a Wen Wei Po report about the Dragon Slaying Brigade Squad raising funds through crowdfunding and asked Chung Pui-kuen whether the report incited violence, saying: “According to the prosecution’s account, wouldn’t that amount to helping promote it and inciting hatred against it?” Chung said it was difficult to speculate on the motive, but agreed that the event needed to be reported.
The defence also submitted cartoons and illustrated images from Bauhinia magazine, Sing Pao and other publications, saying that other media had also criticised judges as “dictatorial”, described then-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Zhang Dejiang as a “national demon”, and referred to then-Chief Executive candidate Carrie Lam and others as “Dejiang’s female troops”. Chung testified that in the past, state media, pro-establishment newspapers and non-establishment newspapers alike used political cartoons and designed images to enhance the impact and appeal of articles, although the number of political cartoons had declined in recent years. The trial will continue on Thursday (30th).
《立場新聞》被控「串謀發布煽動刊物」案，周二（28 日）於區域法院踏入第 48 日審訊。就控方早前指《立場》在專訪為許智峯推廣「國際線」及「賣廣告」，辯方引述《文匯報》報道「屠龍小隊」眾籌收集資金，詢問鍾沛權報道是否煽動暴力，指「根據控方說法，呢個直情幫佢宣傳，幫佢引起煽動仇恨？」鍾表示難以猜測動機，但他認同需報道事件。
辯方又呈上《紫荊》雜誌、《成報》等漫晝配圖，指其他媒體亦曾批評法官「獨裁」，並將時任全國人大常委會委員長張德江形容為「國妖」、時任特首候選人林鄭月娥等人則為「德江娘子軍」。鍾供稱，過往不論官媒、親建制或非建制報章都會以政治漫畫及設計圖片，增加文章效果及吸引力，惟近年政治漫畫數量已減少。案件周四（30 日）續審。
27 Mar 2023獨媒#6215
前中大生涉轉載「羊村」刊物連結 認煽動罪囚5個月 已還柙80多天料將出獄
A 24-year-old former Chinese University of Hong Kong student union member allegedly reposted a download link to the “Sheep Village” picture books on Facebook last September and commented, “catch me if you can, motherfucker”. He also used the White Paper Movement to propose reigniting street protests. Charged with doing one or more acts with a seditious intention, he pleaded guilty today (27th) at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts and was sentenced to five months in prison. National Security Law designated judge and Chief Magistrate Law Tak-chuen said the defendant had used the “White Paper protests” as a pretext, akin to planting a “time bomb”. As the defendant had already been remanded in custody for more than 80 days, he was expected to be released soon. The defence had hoped the court would issue an immediate release order, but Magistrate Law refused, saying the Correctional Services Department would “do the calculation”.
一名曾任中大學生會成員的24歲男子，涉去年9月在FB轉載「羊村繪本」下載連結並留言「catch me if you can, motherfucker」，亦借「白紙運動」提議重燃街頭抗爭。他被控「作出一項或多項具煽動意圖的作為」罪，今（27日）在西九龍裁判法院認罪，被判囚5個月。《國安法》指定法官、主任裁判官羅德泉指，被告透過「白紙示威」借題發揮，猶如埋下「計時炸彈」。由於被告已還柙80多天，預料快將出獄，辯方一度希望法庭能頒下即時釋放命令，但羅官拒絕並指懲教會「計返數」。
27 Mar 2023法庭線#6217
《立場》被指煽動案｜控方指若林紹桐無辜 鍾應向警及律政司交代 官指問法危險
The trial of Stand News, which is charged with conspiracy to publish seditious publications, entered its 47th day at the District Court on Monday (27th). During the prosecution’s questioning about Chung’s arrest and the recording of witness statements, Chung was asked why, if he knew Lam Siu-tung was innocent, he had not explained the details to the Department of Justice and police to “help Lam Siu-tung clear his name”. The defence objected, asking whether the prosecution would accept that Lam had nothing to do with the 15 articles in question if Chung gave a full account under oath. Judge Kwok Wai-kin twice said the line of questioning was “dangerous”, noting that the defendant had the right to remain silent and that the question did not assist the prosecution.
The prosecution completed 26 days of questioning, after which defence counsel Audrey Eu conducted re-examination. She said the prosecution had newly submitted nearly 300 documents, resulting in numerous questions and leaving her with a “very challenging task”. Referring to Stand News’s announcement in June 2021 that articles would be removed, Eu cited the Hong Kong Journalists Association’s Code of Professional Conduct for Journalists, which states that journalists “should not self-censor because of political pressure”, and asked Chung whether the removal decision had “violated the code”. Chung agreed, saying that removing the articles was a political judgment made to protect the organisation, colleagues and authors, and that he “would be very unwilling to do it unless necessary”. Regarding the prosecution’s claim that Stand News had deliberately published an article about protests in Northern Ireland, Chung reiterated that it was a technical error and said there was no need to clarify criticisms from Ta Kung Pao and others that sought to elevate the matter. The trial will continue on Tuesday (28th).
《立場新聞》被控「串謀發布煽動刊物」案，周一（27 日）於區域法院踏入第 47 日審訊。控方問及鍾被捕後、錄取證人口供時，若知林紹桐無辜，為何不向律政司及警方交代詳情，「幫助林紹桐開脫」。辯方反對提問，反問若鍾於宣誓下交代所有情況，控方是否就會接受林與涉案 15 篇文章無關。法官郭偉健亦兩度指「問法危險」，被告有權保持緘默，問題對控方沒有幫助。
控方完成 26 日盤問，遂由辯方余若薇覆問。她指控方新呈近 300 篇文件，因此提問較多，「留返非常具挑戰性任務畀我」。其中提到《立場》在 2021 年 6 月發出下架公告，余指記協的《新聞從業員專業操守守則》，提及「不應因政治壓力而自我審查」，問鍾下架決定「違反咗守則啦喎？」鍾同意，指下架文章是一個政治判斷，為了保護機構、同事及作者，「如非必要好唔願意做。」至於控方指《立場》故意刊出北愛爾蘭抗爭文章，鍾重申是技術性失誤，亦毋須就《大公報》等「上綱上線」的批評作澄清。案件周二（28 日）續審。
27 Mar 2023法庭線#6222
47人案｜區諾軒承認宣布退初選後仍開會 趙家賢閱畢涉案文件、料周二將作供
During prosecution cross-examination, Au Nok-hin confirmed, in response to questions from the judge, that he had attended the Hong Kong Island coordination meeting on 17 July 2020. He explained: “There were some loose ends that had to be dealt with.” The judge questioned whether Au had in fact not completely withdrawn from participating, despite announcing his withdrawal on 15 July.
During cross-examination, chief prosecutor Tianxing Zhou confirmed for the first time, in response to the judge, that the prosecution regarded Chak Hung Choy, the former chairman of the Kwun Tong District Council who had participated in coordinating the Kowloon East primary election, as one of the co-conspirators in the case. Choi was not arrested or charged in the case. Au told the court that he had received case-related messages only from Choi, saying that he did not want “the messages other people received and the ones I received to also have problems … causing many people unnecessary concern.”
區諾軒於控方覆問時，在法官提問下確認曾出席 2020 年 7 月 17 日的港島協調會議，並解釋稱「有啲手尾要處理埋佢。」法官質疑，區在 7 月 15 日宣布退出，但事實上沒有完全退出參與。
覆問期間，主控周天行回答法官時首度確認，控方視曾參與初選九龍東協調的觀塘區議會前主席蔡澤鴻為案中共謀者之一。蔡在本案中沒被捕，亦沒被起訴。區庭上指只從蔡收到涉案訊息，稱不希望「人哋收嘅訊息畀我都有問題…導致好多人有不必要嘅擔心」。
27 Mar 2023法庭線#6223
涉轉發「羊村繪本」下載網址 發布196則煽動帖文 中大前學生會成員認罪囚5月
Wong Ho-cheung, a former Chinese University of Hong Kong student union member, was accused of publishing 196 seditious posts on the LIHKG discussion forum and Facebook, including posts promoting Hong Kong independence and inciting the overthrow of the central and Hong Kong governments. He also reposted a post from the “Sheep Village 2.0” page on Facebook with a download link for the “Sheep Village picture book series”, and commented on the “White Paper Movement” in mainland China on LIHKG, thereby advocating street protests. He pleaded guilty on Monday (27th) at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts to the charge of “doing one or more acts with a seditious intention”.
The defence said in mitigation that the defendant had performed “extremely well” academically, graduating from CUHK with first-class honours and achieving a GPA of 4.0 in two semesters. It said he had committed the offence after “thinking wrongly for a moment”, reiterated that his posts were merely slogan-like and contained nothing new, and said that to some extent he had been “incited by the inciting acts of others”.
Chief Magistrate Lo Tak-chuen said when sentencing that although social disorder had subsided for some time, some people remained dissatisfied and could easily have their emotions stirred. The defendant had continued posting about the White Paper protests on LIHKG and exploited the issue; saying that his conduct was like planting a “time bomb” was not alarmist. Taking into account that the defendant had repeated slogans, and that slogans were inseparable from violence and could easily evoke images of violence and affect other people’s emotions, the court set a starting point of 7.5 months’ imprisonment and, after a reduction for his guilty plea, sentenced him to five months in prison.
中大前學生會成員王浩鏘，被指在連登討論區及 FB 上發布196 則煽動帖文，包括宣揚港獨、煽動推翻中央及香港政府等；他另在 FB 轉載「羊村2.0」專頁帖文，附上「羊村繪本系列」的下載網址，又在連登評論內地發生的「白紙運動」，藉此提倡街頭抗爭，被控「作出一項或多項具煽動意圖的作為」罪，被告周一（27 日）在西九龍裁判法院認罪。
辯方求情指，被告學業「非常之好」，他在中大修讀學士以一級榮譽畢業，兩個學期的 GPA 考獲 4.0 佳績；他是一時「諗歪咗」而犯案，重申其帖文只是口號式 ，沒有新意，又指他某程度上是「被他人煽動行為所煽動」。
主任裁判官羅德泉判刑時指，雖然社會亂象已沉寂一段時間，但部分人心有不忿， 容易被挑起情緒；被告在連登持續發布白紙示威，借題發揮，若說被告行為如同埋下「計時炸彈」，並非危言聳聽。考慮到被告重複口號，而口號與暴力離不開，容易令人勾起暴力場面，影響他人情緒，終以監禁 7.5 個月為量刑起點，認罪減刑後判囚 5 個月。
24 Mar 2023法庭線#6205
47人案｜控方料下周傳趙家賢 區諾軒指〈墨〉不符協調共識 問「係咪有黑盒」
The court referred to the primary election nomination form, which included a clause requiring participants to declare that they had never been DQ’d by the government. In response to questions from the judge, Au Nok-hin acknowledged that the organisers knew some people had previously been DQ’d. He said: “But as the organisers of the primary, we could also say that we were opening the door for business,” explaining that they had not considered cancelling those individuals’ eligibility to participate in the pan-democratic primary.
Counsel for Tong Wai-hin cited the “Ink Falls, No Regrets” statement during cross-examination. The judge asked about the “consensus” mentioned in the statement, while Au testified that there had been a dispute over veto powers at a New Territories East meeting. In his answer, Au referred to whether, after the coordination meeting that day, there had been a “black box”—that is, a process that led to the common platform—or whether Tong Wai-hin believed the wording “will” would be used. The trial will resume next Monday.
庭上引用初選提名表格，有條款要求參加者聲明不曾被政府 DQ，區諾軒在法官提問下承認，大會知悉部分人曾被政府 DQ，稱「不過我哋作為初選嘅舉辦人，都可以叫打開門口做生意」，指沒想過要取消相關人士參與民主派初選的資格。
鄒家成的代表大狀引用〈墨落無悔〉聲明盤問。法官問及〈墨〉提及「共識」，但區供稱新東會議就否決權有爭議。區回答時提及「喺當日嘅協調會議後係咪有一個『黑盒』，就係有一個過程...導致到共同綱領，或者鄒家成係認為會用『會』（字眼）嘅。」案件下周一續審。
24 Mar 2023法庭線#6209
47人案｜控方料下周傳趙家賢 區諾軒指〈墨〉不符協調共識 問「係咪有黑盒」
The court cited a primary election nomination form containing a clause requiring participants to declare that they had never been disqualified by the government. In response to questions from the judge, Au Nok-hin acknowledged that the organisers knew some people had previously been disqualified by the government. He said: “But as the organisers of the primary election, we could also say we were opening the door for business,” adding that they had not considered cancelling the eligibility of those people to participate in the pan-democratic primary election.
Counsel for Chow Ka-shing cited the statement “Ink Falls Without Regret” during cross-examination. The judge asked about the reference to “consensus” in the statement, but Au testified that there had been disagreement over veto power at the New Territories East meeting. In his answer, Au referred to whether there had been a “black box” after the coordination meeting that day—in other words, a process “leading to the common platform, or whether Chow Ka-shing believed that the word ‘would’ would be used.” The trial will resume next Monday.
庭上引用初選提名表格，有條款要求參加者聲明不曾被政府 DQ，區諾軒在法官提問下承認，大會知悉部分人曾被政府 DQ，稱「不過我哋作為初選嘅舉辦人，都可以叫打開門口做生意」，指沒想過要取消相關人士參與民主派初選的資格。
鄒家成的代表大狀引用〈墨落無悔〉聲明盤問。法官問及〈墨〉提及「共識」，但區供稱新東會議就否決權有爭議。區回答時提及「喺當日嘅協調會議後係咪有一個『黑盒』，就係有一個過程...導致到共同綱領，或者鄒家成係認為會用『會』（字眼）嘅。」案件下周一續審。
23 Mar 2023法庭線#6197
《立場》被指煽動案｜控方指《立場》已下架文章 質疑「警察上門冇咩值得驚」
The trial of Stand News, charged with “conspiracy to publish seditious publications”, entered its 46th day at the District Court on Thursday (23rd). The prosecution said Chung Pui-kuen was arrested in December 2021, while Stand News had taken down some articles in June of the same year, asking: “The safety factor should be quite high; what is there to be afraid of when police come knocking?” Chung responded: “If they came to my door, how could I not be afraid?” He also said he was shocked and angry when he saw the articles in question at the police station: “They can even take this out and use it as evidence of a crime, targeting one media organisation. What room is there for the media in Hong Kong to survive?”
The prosecution also said that, during a video-recorded interview after his arrest, Chung confirmed that he had approved the 15 articles in question, and asked whether he had been determined to “take responsibility for all 15 articles”. Chung said that, as editor-in-chief, he had to take responsibility for all content; even if he had not participated in approving an article, if there was a problem with its content, the editor-in-chief could not shirk responsibility. He said lawyers had advised him to remain silent, but he would not evade or conceal matters relating to his work as a news editor: “I didn’t want the police to arrest other colleagues because I kept silent... I’d rather tell you everything, and you don’t go after anyone else.” The prosecution also asked why Chung had not applied for bail after being charged. Chung twice questioned, “Do I really have to say?”, before saying that he had not applied at the time because he hoped to be released as soon as possible and look after his wife.
《立場新聞》被控「串謀發布煽動刊物」案，周四（23 日）於區域法院踏入第 46 日審訊。控方指鍾沛權 2021 年 12 月被捕，《立場》同年 6 月已下架部分文章，「安全係數應該好高，警察上門冇咩值得驚？」鍾反問「佢都上門，點會唔驚？」，又指在警署看到涉案文章感驚訝及憤怒，「咁都可以攞出嚟做罪證，針對一間傳媒，香港傳媒仲有咩生存空間？」
控方又提到，鍾被捕後在錄影會面中，確認涉案 15 篇文章由他審批，問鍾是否一心將 15 篇文章「攬哂上身」。鍾沛權指，他作為總編輯要對所有內容負責，就算沒參與審批，文章內容「出事」，總編輯仍然責無旁貸。他又指，律師建議他保持緘默，但就新聞編輯工作，他不會迴避、隱瞞，「唔想因為保持緘默，警方再拘捕其他同事⋯寧願我講晒畀你哋聽，你唔好搞其他人啦」。控方又問鍾為何被控後不申請保釋，鍾兩度質疑「係咪真係要講？」，其後指當時不申請因希望盡快獲釋、照顧太太。
23 Mar 2023法庭線#6198
47人案｜區諾軒：初選停止各人不再受約束 曾為袁嘉蔚助選非認同其抗爭意念
While testifying, Au Nok-hin agreed that participants were no longer bound by the declaration or common manifesto after the “35+” plan was halted. When the judge asked whether primary election loser Yeung Suet-ying had therefore signed up to run in the Legislative Council election, Au said: “The campaign no longer operated, and the decisions everyone made afterwards were their own.”
Au also confirmed that he had campaigned for Yuen Ka-wai, who took part in the Hong Kong Island primary election. Asked by the judge whether he supported her resistance ideas, Au denied this, saying he had agreed at the time to campaign for all the Hong Kong Island candidates: “I did not say I particularly supported anyone’s ideas.” Asked whether he knew that Yuen had signed the “No Regrets in Ink” declaration, Au said he had not paid attention to whether anyone had signed it. He later said the appearance of the declaration made him doubt whether the “35+” plan could succeed.
區諾軒作供時同意「35+」計劃停止後，參加者不再受聲明或共同綱領約束，法官問初選落敗的楊雪盈是否因此報名參選立法會？區稱，「大會唔再運作，大家跟住做嘅決定係自主嘅」。
區又確認曾為參與港島初選的袁嘉蔚助選。法官問區是否支持其抗爭意念？區否認，稱當時答應為所有港島參選人助選，「我無話特別支持邊個理念」。被問及知否袁有簽〈墨落無悔〉聲明？區稱，無關心任何人簽署；其後又指〈墨〉出現令他對「35+」計劃能否成功生疑。
23 Mar 2023法庭線#6201
《立場》被指煽動案｜鍾沛權指控方推論匪夷所思 官指控方「盡緊責任」
The trial of Stand News, which is charged with “conspiracy to publish seditious publications”, entered its 46th day at the District Court on Thursday (23rd). The prosecution questioned Chung Pui-kuen over whether, when he resigned as editor-in-chief, he had failed to make a special handover to the third defendant, Lam Siu-tung, because “you would continue to monitor them”. Chung denied this, saying the prosecution’s inference was absurd: “How can you use the fact that we did not do certain things to infer our motives and reasons?” Judge Kwok Wai-kin interrupted to say that the prosecution could draw inferences based on the evidence, adding that “he chose his words very carefully; he put it to you and suggested it, so he is doing his duty.”
Separately, while questioning Chung with reference to the BBC Editorial Guidelines, the prosecution translated the guideline “fairly represent opposing viewpoints when included” as “fairly include opposing voices”. Chung said: “That is not what it means in English. It means that if an article includes opposing viewpoints, those viewpoints must be represented fairly,” and asked why the prosecution, with such good English, had deliberately distorted the sentence. The two briefly argued, before Judge Kwok Wai-kin intervened and said: “Let’s not ask any further questions about this.” The trial will resume next Monday (27th).
《立場新聞》被控「串謀發布煽動刊物」案，周四（23 日）於區域法院踏入第 46 日審訊。控方質疑鍾沛權辭任總編輯時，未有與第三被告林紹桐特別交接，因「你會繼續 mon（監控）住佢哋」。鍾否認，指控方推論匪夷所思，「你點可以用我哋冇做某啲嘢，去推斷我哋動機、原因」。法官郭偉健打斷指，控方可基於證據作出推論，又指「佢用字好小心，係put畀你、suggest，所以佢盡緊佢責任」。
另外，控方引《BBC 編採守則》盤問鍾沛權期間，將其中一項守則「fairly represent opposing viewpoints when included」，譯作「公平地包括相反聲音」。鍾聞言謂：「佢英文意思唔係咁，係如果文章包含反對觀點，表述反對觀點時要公平」，指控方「英文咁好，點解要刻意曲解呢句英文」。兩人一度爭論，法官郭偉健調停稱「大家唔好再問落去」。案件下周一（27 日）續審。
Translations are supplied by the source workbook. Consult the original reporting for context.
